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Driver Alive After Severe Crash South Ozone Park

A 25 year old driver is lucky to be alive after crashing his car into a tree in South Ozone Park. The occurred on North Conduit Avenue near 120th Street around 3:40 a.m. Sunday morning.

The driver was rushed to Jamaica Hospital where he remains in stable condition after doctors operated on him. The photos of the vehicle at the scene show the car wrapped around a tree, facing the wrong way on the one-way, with no rooftop or doors.

According to NYPD data, North Conduit Avenue between 120th and 121st streets has been the scene of 14 crashes this year, injuring three, two car occupants, and one pedestrian.

Pedestrians, cyclists and motorists should be aware that Conduit Avenue is dangerous and prone to crashes. Conduit Avenue, especially between Cross Bay BLVD in Howard Beach and Atlantic Avenue in Cypress Hills, serves as a thoroughfare between SE Queens & Brooklyn.

Drivers also use it to access Linden Boulevard and the Belt Parkway. Conduit Avenue has no no bike lanes along the thoroughfare with reports of drivers speeding along the street.

Statistics show that in 2009 and 2013, seven people were killed and 41 were severely injured in accidents along that stretch of Conduit Avenue. A total of 763 people were injured including 42 pedestrians and 13 bicyclists, according to the Department of Transportation. Conduit Avenue – Read more ..

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Helen Marszalek, 70, was walking across Atlantic at Grant Avenue, in East New York, Brooklyn at around 1:30 in the afternoon when she was struck by the driver of a BMW sedan in the westbound lanes. Marszalek, who lived nearby, died at Brookdale University Hospital, DNAinfo reported.

Helen Marszalek.

The crash occurred on a segment of Atlantic that the de Blasio administration has singled out for improvements as part of the Vision Zero Great Streets program, which concentrates on four of the city’s most dangerous streets for walking: Atlantic Avenue, Queens Boulevard, Grand Concourse, and Brooklyn’s Fourth Avenue.

Atlantic Avenue at the site of the crash is six lanes with a center median. Last summer DOT unveiled plans to redesign medians and add vehicle turn bays between Pennsylvania Avenue and Conduit Avenue, to the west, where the crash rate is higher than on 90 percent of Brooklyn streets. Phase two of the project would focus on Atlantic between Conduit Avenue and Rockaway Boulevard, encompassing the intersection where Marszalek was killed.

Radar devices, including boards with skeleton images, display vehicle speeds to underscore the City’s 30 mph speed limit and the dangers of speeding

New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) announced the relocation of speed boards to new sites citywide, extending the reach of a vital safety message that calls dramatic attention to the city’s 30 m.p.h. speed limit and the fatal consequences of speeding.

DOT introduced speed boards this spring as part of its “That’s Why It’s 30” anti-speeding campaign, temporarily installing them along corridors with histories of excessive speeding.

In addition to traditional speed boards that display oncoming vehicles’ speeds, DOT unveiled specialized ones that display an LED image of a skeleton next to the words “Slow Down” if a passing motorist exceeds the speed limit.

Skeleton speed boards currently are stationed at Beverly Road between East 28th and East 29th streets and Dahill Road between 52nd and 53rd streets in Brooklyn; Hillside Avenue between 248th and 249th streets and Utopia Parkway between 67th and Peck avenues in Queens; and Hylan Boulevard between Buffalo Street and Chesterton Avenue in Staten Island. Traditional speed boards are now located at Linden Boulevard between Warwick and Jerome streets in Brooklyn; Targee Street between Venice Street and Clove Road and Mosel Avenue between Osgood Avenue and Manton Place in Staten Island; Webster Avenue between 194th Street and Bedford Park Boulevard and Hutchinson River Parkway East between Wilkinson and St. Paul avenues in the Bronx; and Fifth Avenue between 132nd and 135th streets in Manhattan. Read More…

The speed boards will continue to be rotated to new locations each month to curb excessive speeding. Future locations for speed boards include Utica Avenue between Avenue L and Avenue M, 21st Avenue between 53rd and 57th streets, and Shore Parkway at Knapp Street in Brooklyn; Richmond Avenue between Arthur Kill Road and Victory Boulevard in Staten Island; 172nd Street between 107th and Liberty avenues and North Conduit Avenue between Sutter Avenue and 76th Street in Queens; Bruckner Boulevard between Longwood Avenue and East 156th Street and Lafayette Avenue between East Tremont and Balcom avenues in the Bronx, and Broadway between Dongan Place and Arden Street in Manhattan.

The use of speed boards builds on a growing portfolio of safety tools designed to educate New Yorkers about the safety benefits of the city’s 30 m.p.h. speed limit. In DOT’s Pedestrian Safety Study and Action Plan, focus groups showed that more than two-thirds of New Yorker’s did not know the 30 m.p.h. speed limit in the city. DOT’s “That’s Why It’s 30” advertising campaign was developed to build awareness and change behavior.

Paul Ajlouny, New York car accident Lawyer weighs in on DOTS Anti-speeding Campaign. “raising safety awareness among drivers, and pedestrians by highlighting the danger of speeding is just another step to reducing the number of pedestrian / driver injuries and fatalities” says Mr. Ajlouny.

“New York streets are congested with distracted drivers, possibly under the influence or in a rush to get from one place to another as seen on a main street like Conduit Avenue.

I stand by any attempt to keep pedestrians safe while walking; like crosswalks, pedestrian signals, and pedestrian warning signs. Hopefully, this campaign can educate New Yorker’s about what to look for, what to expect and how to proceed in an attempt to reduce pedestrian injuries and fatalities and achieve greater pedestrian safety.” said Mr. Ajlouny.

If a pedestrian is hit by a car traveling 40 m.p.h. or faster, there’s a 70% chance that the pedestrian will be killed; at 30 m.p.h., there’s an 80% chance that the pedestrian will live.